


Daisies in the Morning

by nutella4ever



Category: Dengeki Daisy
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-07
Updated: 2013-08-23
Packaged: 2017-12-10 17:39:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/788362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nutella4ever/pseuds/nutella4ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles with our favourite pair. Full of the sort of sweet stuff that will make your dentist love me forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Daisies and Monday Mornings

Teru yawned as she staggered blearily into the kitchen early on a Monday morning. She switched the coffee machine on and yawned again as she tightened the belt of the white fluffy dressing gown her boyfriend had gotten for her nineteenth birthday.

I’m so happy I live here now. We have a coffee machine and I know how to use a DVD player with no problem. Teru chuckled to herself, remembering how just a few years ago she couldn’t even get a DVD to play.

The coffee machine gave a ‘beep’ and Teru poured some coffee into her favourite mug. Taking a sip she made her way back to the bedroom to get dressed. However as she drew closer to the door she started to hear strange noises, like scrapes and thuds, not unlike what if it would sound like if a bunch of squirrels had been let loose in the room. She opened the door and saw, not a bunch of squirrels, but her boyfriend dressed for work and frantically looking for something.

“What’s wrong?” mumbled Teru, as she leaned against the doorframe, took another sip of her hot coffee and watched him tear apart the bedroom.

“I can’t find my phone,” Kurosaki’s muffled voice responded from somewhere under the bed. Teru sighed and took a big gulp of coffee from her striped mug. Then she walked into the bedroom, set her mug down on the dresser and padded softly across the carpet to stand by what she could see of Kurosaki, which consisted mainly of his calves and ankles, as he continued rummaging around under the bed. 

“There’s a hole in your right sock.”

A muffled curse reached her ears and Kurosaki’s rumpled blonde head appeared. Teru drew her dressing gown closer around her and knelt down beside him. She smiled sweetly.

“It’s in the kitchen, on the counter next to the kettle. What’s got you so worried anyway? Are you afraid I might find it, is there something you don’t want me to know? Have you been harassing other women, pervert?” Teru challenged.

 

Kurosaki smirked. “As if. I already have a slave. No one else would keep my apartment clean and do my laundry,” he grinned.

Teru rolled her eyes, though the corners of her mouth turned up. “Go bald Kurosaki! Come and have some coffee when you’ve finished applying your hair tonic.”

She stood up, picked up her mug and made her way back to the kitchen to make breakfast before the pair had to begin their day, leaving Kurosaki still sitting on the floor anxiously fingering his scalp.

Breakfast passed in its usual way, with Kurosaki making the occasional jab at Teru’s cooking as it was Monday, and Teru telling him loudly to go bald already, also because it was Monday. Afterwards Kurosaki washed the dishes reluctantly, while Teru showered and got dressed for college.

Teru had perfected showering at the speed of light in the mornings after living with Kurosaki since graduating high school, as several times he’d left without her after she took too long in the shower and she’d had to walk. Wrapped in a towel she wiped the steam from the mirror and refastened her daisy necklace around her neck. She’s worn it every day ever since Kurosaki had given it to her as Daisy when she was sixteen. Riko sometimes teased her about it, but Teru didn’t care as it reminded her of the days when Daisy was always there, always watching over her and keeping her safe.

Of course I still have that now; it’s just Kurosaki himself instead of being Daisy. Teru smiled, remembering the good old days. She had kept all the e-mails she could from ‘Daisy’ and read back on them sometimes when she and Kurosaki were fighting, or when he was out of town. He’d gotten a new job with a computer software company and Teru was very proud of him. It was just unfortunate that he had to wear a suit to work quite often. He’d never liked suits, but Teru found great joy in buying him ridiculous ties and forcing him to wear them. She knew he took them off as soon as he got to work, as they were always slightly askew when he got home in the evenings, with the knot tied differently to how she tied them for him in the mornings.

Teru blinked at her reflection, and told herself to hurry up and get dressed. Thankfully today wasn’t a day Kurosaki had to wear a suit so they could skip the argument that always took place when she wrestled him into one of the brightly coloured, bizarrely patterned, decorated with pictures of snails or otherwise ridiculous ties that she delighted in inflicting on him. She ran a comb through her hair and left the bathroom to gather her things before Kurosaki got impatient and left without her.

“At last,” he grumbled teasingly when he spotted her picking up her bag. “Don’t you know it’s bad to keep your master waiting?”

“Go bald Kurosaki! Let’s go!” Kurosaki smirked as he watched his girlfriend slam out of the apartment and followed her as she stomped to the elevator. 

Later in the car, as he dropped her off he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Bye. Do your best, and don’t talk to any creepy janitors! I’ll be home late tonight and I expect a lovely dinner and a massage from my loyal servant when I get home!”

“Go bald, Kurosaki,” Teru yelled as she hopped out of the car and slammed the door. Stupid blonde delinquent.

“I love you!” he called after her. She stopped, gasped and went a little pink. No matter how many times they said it since they’d both finally gotten around to confessing, she could never fully get used to it.

“I – I love you too, even though you will soon become bald” she retorted before turning and walking away to hide her smile. True, they had their moments when they yelled (Teru), and threw things (Teru), slammed doors (Teru), and refused to cook dinner so they had to eat instant ramen (Kurosaki). But at the end of the day they could never be with anyone else. Because who else would put up with each of them?


	2. Tongue Tied

Kurosaki swore as yet another smaller car managed to speedily maneuver into his parking space. He frowned and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. What did it take to be able to go to the shops before work? Why were there so many people here at this time of the morning?

Kurosaki frowned as he stared absentmindedly at the back bumper of the car in front of him. Things had been a little strained with Teru lately. She was working so hard at college, and he brought work home with him every day. They were lucky if they managed to eat their meals together. He hadn’t even seen her this morning, only a note propped against the rice cooker in the kitchen.

Kurosaki, I’ve left for college extra early. I tried not to wake you because you looked so cute and also because I thought that your hair might fall out if you didn’t get enough sleep. Teru 

Kurosaki had smiled when he read it. Now he just felt slightly irritated that he never got to see her properly, save for a few sleepy mumbles in the evening and some groggy mutterings in the mornings.

Right now he was on his way to work, and it was beginning to drizzle. It was only Tuesday morning, but it already felt as though the weekend was a distant memory. He fiddled with the top button of his shirt, and thought to himself that maybe it was a good thing Teru hadn’t been around that particular morning. 

Today was one of the days when he had to wear a suit to work, and he hadn’t been sorry to escape the dreaded tie of the day, which Teru would surely have forced him to wear. God only knows what she would have come up with. Kurosaki shuddered. If anything was going to make him go bald for real, it would be the ties Teru got so much entertainment from. 

They gave him nightmares.

At long last Kurosaki managed to snag a parking space, though he earned himself a honk of a horn and a raised finger in the process.

Finally, Kurosaki was able to walk into the shopping mall. He was walking purposefully towards his destination when he happened to look to his right, into the window of a menswear shop. He stopped in his tracks.

Was that Teru? She had her back to him and she was paying for something at the cash register. What was she buying?

He took a moment to look at her, while she wasn’t half-asleep and wearing pajamas. She was wearing a skirt, tights and boots with a chunky wooly sweater that made her look tiny and fragile. Her hair was caught up in a clip at the back of her head and though she wore no makeup her cheeks held the merest tint of pink. 

Kurosaki smiled to himself. He was so lucky to have her. With that, he walked into the store and stood behind her in the queue. 

“Thank you!” he heard her say cheerfully to the woman at the cash register. When she turned around, her jaw dropped open and her eyes widened to resemble chocolate brown saucers.

“K-Kurosaki?” she stammered. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Leaving so early without fixing me breakfast first, I will have to punish you later,” Kurosaki grinned.

Then he nodded at the small brown paper bag in her hand. “Is that for me?”

Teru clutched it tighter for a moment, then surrendered and nodded. Suddenly she grinned mischievously. “Give me a lift the rest of the way to college and I’ll give it to you!”

They walked together out of the shop, and started to make their way back to Kurosaki’s truck. When they reached the door of the shopping mall however they both stopped. The drizzle outside had turned into a downpour and the car was parked at the far side of the parking lot. By unspoken agreement, the couple decided to stay where they were for a few minutes to see if the rain would ease up.

Teru turned to Kurosaki, and handed him the paper bag. Kurosaki took it, suddenly wary of the glint of mischief he saw in her eyes as she smiled widely.

He peeked inside the bag … and his left eyebrow twitched as his eyes narrowed.

In his hand was the mostly ridiculously awful tie he’d ever seen in his life. It was patterned to look like the keys of a piano, which wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the fact that there were several red blobs scattered over the keys. If he wore it, he would not only be wearing a stupid tie, but it would look like he’d spilt ketchup on an already ridiculous tie. 

Plus the red would clash horribly with the pale green colour of the shirt he was wearing.

Oh God no, he thought. Kurosaki gave Teru the Death Glare®

“There is no way in hell I am going to wear this to work!” he hissed through clenched teeth. He would have yelled, but he didn’t want to draw the attention of the other shoppers. They might notice the tie.

“Why not? I like it!” Teru laughed.

“It’s not all about you Teru! Stop being so selfish!” he snapped. His eyes widened when he realized what he’d said and he instantly regretted it.

Teru’s smile disappeared and she flinched as though he’d slapped her.

“Teru-”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I should go. I’m going to be late.”

“Teru-” he tried again. But she’d already disappeared.

Damn it, he thought. Why did he have to be so stupid? He stared down at the tie lying innocently in his hands. He clenched his teeth in determination. There was only one thing for it.

Meanwhile, Teru was having trouble concentrating in her lectures. Kurosaki was right. She was being selfish, forcing him to wear all those stupid ties. She knew her choice of ties horrified him, but in a way it had become a kind of game with them. 

She’d buy them, he refuse to wear them, they’d fight, and she’d eventually get it around his neck sometimes almost strangling him in the process. He’d then wear the tie as he left the apartment, ripping it off as soon as he got to his car or as soon as he dropped her off, depending on whether he was giving her a lift that day. 

He’d always put the tie back on before coming home, even though they both knew he hadn’t been wearing it during the day. It was just the way the game was played.

But of course he’d eventually get sick of her demanding ways right? Teru felt terrible. She was so annoying, such a burden and a pain.

I’m a terrible person, she thought sadly.

Later when all of Teru’s lectures were over, she decided to go and study in the library on-campus. She knew Kurosaki would work late today, so she figured she’d get some work done and then catch the bus home.

However, after a while it became clear that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate. She packed up her things and exited the library into the evening air. It was already beginning to get dark. 

Teru sighed and walked to the bus stop in front of the college. She arrived just in time to catch the bus, its yellow lights bright and warm, contrasting with the chill of approaching night. Teru huddled up in her seat on the bus and stared out the window. She had to pay attention to where she was going because she wasn’t getting off at her usual stop.

A short while later Teru was standing in front of a tall, grey building that was mostly in darkness save for a dozen or so brightly lit windows. She tried the door but found she couldn’t get in without a door code.

The last time she came here, she’s been with Kurosaki when he met her there for lunch. It was Kurosaki’s workplace, and he’s been too busy to leave so they’d eaten a picnic at his desk, in an area he shared with his colleagues.

She’s come here now to apologize, but as she couldn’t get in she’s just have to wait. She sat down on the step in front of the door to the building and settled down to wait.

As it turned out she didn’t have to wait long before she heard the door behind her open. She turned around quickly to see Kurosaki exiting the building looking exhausted. However he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her and stood staring at her in surprise. She stared back.

He was wearing the tie.

He followed her gaze and looked down at the tie. He smiled, a little sheepishly.

“It’s not so bad,” he said.

Teru blinked. “Yes it is. It’s awful. It was the most awful one I could find.”

Kurosaki’s eyebrow twitched.

“But I’m sorry I made you wear it. You’re right, it was selfish of me,” Teru continued. “I’m sorry I make you wear such awful ties. I’m sorry I demand so much of you. I’m a horrible person,” she whispered, ashamed.

She started when she felt Kurosaki’s hand push her hair out her eyes. He used his fingers to tip up her chin and force her to look at him.

“I’m the one who should apologize. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I didn’t mean it.” 

He’d said it wasn’t all about her. But that was a lie. It was always all about Teru. Almost everything he did was about Teru. He hoped it would always be that way.

“Let’s go home.”

In the car on the way home, Teru looked mostly at her knees. Kurosaki sneaked the odd glance at her. She was taking what he said so hard. She was always trying to do the right thing, and selfish was the furthest thing from what she was. 

Kurosaki sighed. He was such an idiot.

As soon as they got home and Kurosaki stopped the truck, he turned to Teru.

“Teru. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean what I said. I was stupid and I said something that wasn’t true.”

“It was true though. I am selfish, and demanding. I’m such a cruel woman,” she said sadly.

Kurosaki had to fight a small smile. “You couldn’t be cruel if you tried. You’re the least selfish person I know. It was my fault. So please don’t worry yourself.” He held her chin and made her look into his eyes so she could see the sincerity of his apology.

Teru blushed slightly, but nodded tentatively.

“Come on. It’s late, we should go have dinner.”

A while later, they had eaten their dinner, and things between them were almost back to normal. Teru padded softly around the kitchen in her stockinged feet, cleaning up the instant ramen cups and washing the cutlery, while Kurosaki leaned on the fridge and watched her.

She turned around and caught him looking at her. Then she noticed that he was still wearing the ridiculous tie.

“Why were you at the shopping center this morning?” she asked.

Kurosaki blinked, then went a little pink. “I wanted to get you something. I barely see you anymore, and I just….” He trailed off.

Teru crossed the kitchen and stood in front of him. She reached up and pressed a kiss against his chin, which was the highest point she could reach, as he was so much taller than her.

Kurosaki leaned down and captured her lips with his, winding his arms around her waist and pulling her gently closer. It was a chaste, sweet kiss that held a last small, unspoken apology from both of them.

Teru’s hands moved from where they’d been clutching Kurosaki’s shoulders, to the tie and began to loosen it.

“What are you doing?” he murmured against her lips.

“Ties in general don’t suit you at all,” she replied before giggling and wrapping her arms around his neck .


	3. Spices?

Wednesday morning began the way it usually did; with the loud beeping and grinding noise of the garbage collection truck outside.

Kurosaki groaned and tried to burrow deeper into bed, drawing the duvet up over his head in an attempt to block out the racket.

Still the noise assaulted his eardrums, and he squeezed his eyes shut even tighter, mumbling grumpily.

For those fluent in Kurosaki sleep language, his mumbles could be roughly translated to mean “Please, just five more freaking minutes...”

The as he mumbled some more – “Go away! Not enough sleep! Warm!”

And finally, as the last of sleep slipped through his grasp – “Shut the hell up!”

Kurosaki groaned again as he gave in and sat up, running a hand through his blonde hair so that it stuck up even more than usual.

He glanced down beside him to see if Teru was awake, only to see a mass of shiny black hair on her pillow where her head should have been. Dear God…

He reached out a hand clumsy with sleep, and pushed aside the silky locks, to reveal Teru’s sleeping face. 

Ah, so it was still there!

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head affectionately. She was out like a light. She always did sleep like a log. A very cute log.

He leaned over and shook her shoulder gently. No reaction. He tried again, still nothing.

“Teru,” he called, his voice sounding more awake now. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

She shifted away from him and buried her face in her pillow. She mumbled, and now it was her turn to utter an entirely different sort of gibberish in comparison to the Kurosaki Sleep Language.

“Don’t leave that there… It’s irresponsible! Put it on the spice rack, it’ll have a lot more fun! It’ll blend in nicely if it hides the beak…”

Kurosaki blinked. Spice rack? They didn’t even own a spice rack.

Teru was still mumbling. “No no, bring the hamsters! They go great with popcorn…”

Kurosaki was doing all he could to hold in his laughter, but at the same time avoid death by suffocation. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and was informed that if he didn’t wake Teru up now, she’d be late to her first class, and he’d never hear the end of it.

His hand hovered over her shoulder in indecision. Did he wake her up now or see if she said something else he could tease her about until judgement day?

In the end she made the decision for him. 

“Quick, hide the unicorns in the closet,” she muttered groggily, before rolling over and opening her eyes.

She blinked sleepily at Kurosaki, who was snorting with laughter behind the back of his hand.

She blinked up at him and her eyebrows knit together in sleepy confusion.

“What’s so funny?” she mumbled, yawning and rubbing her eyes.

Her look of bewilderment became an annoyed frown when Kurosaki didn’t answer her, as he was too busy laughing.

“Why are you laughing at me?!” she demanded, suddenly wide awake. She sat up properly and the blankets fell into her lap.

Kurosaki grinned. She looked so cute with her pretty face scrunched up into a frown under a crown of raven black bed-head.

Really crazy bed head.

He just smiled at her and leaned across to kiss her forehead. Then he got up and made his way to the door of the bedroom.

“If you don’t get up now, you’ll make me late for work and I’ll leave without you. You don’t want to walk to college do you?” he called over his shoulder as he walked out.

“I’ll be quicker if you make me breakfast!” she yelled back.

Teru sighed and swung her legs off the bed and threw back the blankets. She yawned again and raised her hand to run it through her hair, only to find that she couldn’t get her fingers through the tangled snarls.

She groaned, got up and staggered over to the closet to get her clothes for the day.

Kurosaki’s voice stopped her when her hand was inches from the closet door handle.

“I’d be careful of that closet if I were you,” he said, a smirk in his voice.

Teru frowned. What was wrong with him? Had the peroxide he used on that spiky hair of his finally affected his brain?

“Why?” she frowned.

He grinned.

“There are unicorns hiding in there!”


	4. Muck

Kurosaki sighed tiredly and kicked his shoes off at the door of the apartment. He knew Teru would scold him later for being so careless, but at the moment he was too exhausted to care. He tossed his much detested briefcase onto the sofa, but if bounced off one of the cushion and landed with a thud on the floor instead. Kurosaki hated his briefcase with the fire of a hundred suns. He thought it was pretentious and pointless, and he felt absolutely ridiculous carrying one. Not to mention that Teru, Riko and the Master had all found it extremely hilarious when they saw him with it. Thankfully, just like the ties, the briefcase wasn’t necessary every day but today he’d had an important meeting with someone important about something important.

Kurosaki half expected Teru to materialise now, waving her arms around and spluttering with rage at the mess, but no angry girlfriend appeared.

The blonde shrugged and made for the kitchen, yanking his tie off along the way and dropping it on a chair. When he reached his destination, he took a minute to survey his surroundings. The kitchen was suspiciously clean, which could only mean one thing.

Deciding that his best bet on finding Teru was to check the bedroom, Kurosaki detoured via the fridge on his way there. Slurping milk directly from the carton, he navigated the darkened apartment until he stood in front of the bedroom door. It was slightly ajar, a shaft of yellow light cutting across the carpet and Kurosaki’s toes before he pushed the door fully open.

Teru was pacing up and down the room, moving back and forth towards the window, parallel to the bed. She was barefoot and her little feet barely seemed to touch the floor, yet Kurosaki suspected that she would soon wear a path into the carpet. She was wearing one of his shirts, which was a little on the enormous side. Her hair was caught up in a messy bun on top of her head with a pencil stuck in it, and a book was held in front of her face with one hand. Kurosaki was slightly impressed despite himself; that book looked like it weighed a ton. If he listened closely, he thought he could hear his girlfriend muttering to herself under her breath.

Her concentration was such that she hadn’t noticed his presence yet. She reached the far side of the room and spun on her heel to continue walking in the opposite direction. A few tendrils of ebony hair escaped from her bun and tumbled about her sweet face… which was covered in what looked like mud.

Kurosaki blinked and looked again. No, it was still there. What was wrong with her? How could she appear so calm when some weird substance was covering her face? Well, as calm as Teru ever was when she was studying…

At the risk of having something thrown at him, (like insults maybe?), Kurosaki opted to disrupt Teru’s focus, to alert her that her significant other was home. And slightly confused.

Teru was so absorbed in her book that it took three tries for Kurosaki to get her attention. After her name being practically hollered, Teru looked up, saw her boyfriend staring at her with wide eyes, and promptly scolded him for yelling. 

Kurosaki wisely kept his mouth shut about the times she shouted. He was rather distracted at the moment; in fact he was almost beside himself. There was something wrong with his lovely, sweet Teru’s face! 

Was it rotting? Would it flake and fall off? Had she finally snapped and coated her face with chocolate for the hell of it?

Eventually, (after three seconds) he couldn’t take it anymore. “Sweetheart,” he began tentatively. 

Teru, who was looking at her book again, murmured noncommittally. At the ensuing silence she looked up to find Kurosaki still looking at her strangely. She grinned. “I’ll wash it off in a minute,” she said.

A short while later, Kurosaki was watching his love rinse her face in the bathroom sink one last time, all traces of the muck gone. Patting her face dry with a towel, Teru smiled sweetly at Kurosaki’s still slightly befuddled face reflected in the bathroom mirror.

“It’s for my skin,” she explained. “It makes my pores smaller, and softens my skin. I noticed that I was starting to get some pimples on my forehead, and the mask makes them go away.”

“How does mud do that?” Kurosaki replied, unconvinced.

“It’s not mud, it’s clay, from the Dead Sea and…” Teru gave up. Kurosaki had disappeared, and she could hear him rummaging around in the fridge. A smile tugged at the corners of Teru’s lips.

She loved how smart he was, but how clueless he could be about other things. He didn’t see the point of hair products and make-up. If she ever tried to wear foundation, he complained endlessly and by the time she was done arguing with him, she’d gone so red in the face the make-up was pointless anyway.

Kurosaki wasn’t a man who dished out compliments, but from the few he had given her over the years, Teru knew what he did and didn’t like. She knew that he liked to see her wearing his shirts, and that he preferred when she left her face bare, with her hair natural and tucked behind her ears.

Tucking her hair back now, Teru made for the kitchen and was greeted by the sight of Kurosaki pouring hot water into instant ramen cups at the spotless kitchen counter. She rolled her eyes. There were two covered plates in the fridge with dinner that she’d prepared earlier, while she was in her super-productive pre-studying mood. Too bad he was too blonde and too silly to have seen them. (She didn’t think that maybe he’d done it on purpose.)

Teru shivered, her toes curling on the cold tiled floor. She hadn’t realised how cold it became when it got dark and the sky outside would have been pitch-black, if not for the city lights.

“You okay?” Kurosaki asked, turning to her. She nodded, smiling, and he handed her dinner to her as he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. Teru’s smile widened and she suddenly didn’t mind the cold.

Later in bed, Kurosaki lay awake, his arm around Teru as she snuggled into his side. He grinned at the ceiling. Teru hadn’t noticed the mess he had made while entering the apartment, and he was proud of his achievement.


	5. Community Service

Early on a Saturday morning, Teru wrenched open the curtains in the bedroom, letting the bright sunlight stream in through the window. She smiled as it heated her face and gave the room a warm yellow glow. She was already fully dressed in sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt, her hair tied back and her feet enclosed in running shoes.

Turning away from the bustling street below the window, she regarded Kurosaki, who was still sprawled in bed while snoring like a chainsaw. It was time for him to wake up.

Kurosaki thought he was still dreaming when he was gently shaken awake by a smiling Teru bearing a mug of coffee. The last time she'd brought him anything in bed in the morning, disaster had shortly befallen him. Shaking his head in an attempt to rid the terrible memories and wake himself up properly, he eyed Teru suspiciously.

Oblivious, Teru beamed back at him, declaring cheerily, "Guess what? We're going out today!"

Kurosaki groaned like a wounded bear, and burrowed back down into bed. A small crease appeared between Teru's eyebrows, and she yanked the blankets off the blonde. He made a grab for them, and because he missed, he argued instead. "It's the middle of the night, Teru! It's too early to go anywhere!"

"It's nine o'clock you lazy, balding slob! The sun is shining! It's a beautiful day! Rise and shine!" Teru turned and left the room, dragging the blankets with her until she reached the doorway, where she dumped them in a heap. "I made breakfast," she added, as she disappeared out of sight.

Kurosaki rolled his eyes and scrambled out of bed, fighting the feeling of dread that was growing somewhere in his stomach. Nothing good could come from this, he was sure. Yanking on clothes similar to Teru's casual attire, he headed out towards the kitchen where he could hear Teru clattering around. His breakfast was indeed laid out in his pace, in front of his chair, and consisted of… cereal.

Deciding (for once) not to complain or argue, Kurosaki sat himself down and started chomping unenthusiastically on his breakfast. Teru hummed slightly as she moved around the compact kitchen, and in spite of his foul mood, Kurosaki found himself smiling slightly. Teru's happiness was infectious, it was like bright sunlight that bathed you and warmed you. In most cases, as long as Kurosaki's princess was happy, he was happy.

Twenty minutes later, the couple were strapped into their seats in Kurosaki's truck with Teru behind the wheel. Ever since Teru had gotten her driver's licence, Kurosaki dreaded the times when Teru insisted on doing the driving. She wasn't a bad driver as such, she obeyed the rules of the road and had never been in any kind of accident, nevertheless her driving made her boyfriend anxious. Sometimes she strayed a little too close to the sidewalk for his liking, and she got easily distracted by pedestrians ("Aw, look at that tiny dog! It's like a rat on a string!", "That elderly couple holding hands are so sweet!"), and other surroundings ("Ooh, those flowers outside that shop are so pretty!", "That looks like a nice park. We should go there sometime. Don't the children look like they're having fun?") It was enough to fray any guy's nerves.

Eventually, they reached the edge of the city and Teru slowed down. She appeared to be looking for somewhere in particular but she adamantly refused to tell Kurosaki where or what it was she was searching for. Just as Kurosaki was starting to feel uneasy about what this could possibly mean for him, Teru pulled over. Kurosaki allowed himself to relax slightly; they were outside a small cheerful looking building behind a high chain-link fence, with white walls, a red front door and flowers in the window boxes.

Teru leaned over and unbuckled his seat belt, before hopping out the driver's door, an excited grin on her face. She slammed her door and beckoned to him.

"Come on!" she exclaimed. Curiosity got the better of the blonde, and he joined Teru on the sidewalk. He could hear dogs barking close by, but before he could ask where they were, a short, grandmotherly lady rounded the corner of the building, and unlatched the gate.

"Minako-san!" Teru greeted. The woman approached the couple, and smiled brightly at them both. She took Teru's small hand in both of her own, and then reached to shake Kurosaki's hand. Her handshake was surprisingly firm, her skin dry and warm.

"Well my dears, ready to go to work?" the lady said brightly. Kurosaki's confusion must have been evident on his face, because the woman chuckled at his expression before turning to Teru and tutting playfully at her. "You didn't tell him why he's here, did you? You naughty little thing," she laughed.

At her boyfriend's (slightly alarmed) raised eyebrow, Teru explained. "This is the community dog shelter, that Minako-san runs. We spoke on the phone and I volunteered us to help out today; I thought it would be fun!"

Kurosaki wasn't sure whether to groan or grin. On the one hand, he had been looking forward to slacking on the couch, drinking beer and smoking his way into an early grave. Maybe watch that new chick flick with Teru that had just been released on DVD…

On the other hand, Teru looked to damn happy and excited it was difficult to resent the loss of his lazy Saturday. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and her smile lit up his world. He was helpless against her will. Before he knew it, the ex-hacker was being led behind the little building, where the sound of barking suddenly got a hell of a lot louder.

As they stepped inside one section of the kennels, Teru's grin got so wide it threatened to swallow her ears and she immediately started fussing and cooing over the animals. Kurosaki took the opportunity to take a look around. Most of the dogs were housed in pairs, and the variety was astounding. There were big ones, little ones, fat ones, skinny ones, fluffy ones, bald ones (!), energetic ones and doleful ones. Some dogs jumped at their pen doors as he approached, some hid behind their companions and stared fearfully at him with huge melancholy eyes. Despite his delinquent-like appearance, Kurosaki hid a soft heart, and the sight of all these seemingly unwanted dogs made him sad.

One beautiful but nervous looking greyhound wearing a fleece jacket over its golden coat was cuddled up with its kennel-mate, a droopy eyed Basset hound. They were a sweet sight, the greyhound being all long, skinny legs and the hound being all ears, the two of them so different yet so comfortable together.

He was just looking at a heap of fluffy puppies snuggling into their mother's side, when he was approached by Minako and handed a lead. Looking up, he saw that Teru was nowhere in sight.

"I'll give you one of the bigger dogs, if that's alright," the lady by his side announced. She led him to an enclosure that contained a massive golden-haired dog that was practically bouncing off the walls. "His name is Troy," Minako told him. "Good luck!"

After a demonstration on how to enter and exit the enclosures properly, Kurosaki was alone with his charge. With instructions to walk him along the trails behind the facility Kurosaki set off. Ten minutes later, he convinced that it was he, in fact, that was being taken for a walk.

The route was lovely; it consisted of a simple dirt trail, surrounded on both side by lush green grass. There were small dips and hills, and plenty of trees for the dogs to sniff around. Unfortunately, Kurosaki didn't have much of a chance to appreciate his surroundings.

Troy strained at the leash like there were seven devils after him and before long Kurosaki's arms were sore and aching. He feared that his shoulders might pop out of their sockets soon, and he was half convinced that his arms were gradually getting stretched. He had to lean backwards and dig his heels into the ground every feet, to prevent himself from being dragged off and his fingers were starting to go numb, his knuckles bone-white from gripping the leash so tightly. Before long, he was red in the face, out of breath and sweating profusely.

It didn't help that some distance away, he could his other half walking two dogs at once with no trouble at all. Both creatures were small and well-behaved, trotting obligingly by Teru's ankles, tongues lolling. Every so often, they would look up at her and wag their little stumpy tails.

Finally, Kurosaki admitted defeat and accepted that he was never going to get Troy tired out, and decided to bring him back. Then came another challenge. All went well until he was in the pen with the dog, the door shut behind them both. The instant the lead was off Troy's neck, he jumped at the sweaty, tired blonde, slathering his face with smelly doggy kisses. Kurosaki had to battle his way to the door of the pen, and quickly discovered that getting out would be a problem. Every time he opened the door a crack, Troy would make a break for it. Eventually, Kurosaki managed to get himself out but every time he tried to close the door, Troy's head would be in the way. In the end, he had to resort to using his foot to push the energetic dog away before slamming the metal door shut, and bolting it securely.

He was leaning against the wall trying to catch his breath when Teru returned with her charges. She was in and out of the enclosure within seconds, depositing the dogs, receiving sweet little doggy kisses on her nose and bidding the "good little sweeties" goodbye. A sly smile touched her lips when she caught sight of her spiky-haired partner.

"You do know that you're so unfit because of all those cigarettes, don't you?" she declared. He tried to argue that he wasn't unfit, but the only sound he could produce was wheezing. Teru smirked.

"I see you had some trouble with Troy," Minako's voice issued from behind Kurosaki. "I must admit I was surprised, I thought a strong young man like you wouldn't have a problem with him." She eyed him like she wasn't forty years his senior, and Kurosaki felt his face burn. "I suppose I'll have to go easier in you then," she continued, winking at him. "You could take these two next," she said, pointing to a pen with a sign on the door that said 'Diesel and Trip.'

These two were much more pleasant, though Kurosaki grumbled to himself that Trip was aptly named after untangling both leads from around his legs for the umpteenth time. Both dogs were clearly delighted to be out and overjoyed to meet him. The ran in circles around each other, and every few feet Diesel would turn around and attach himself to Kurosaki by wrapping his front paws around his leg. It was frustrating, but Kurosaki couldn't bring himself to be annoyed. The look of pure joy on Diesel's furry face was just too endearing. He didn't even mind when he caught sight of a huge black dog, even bigger that Troy, ambling affably by his petite girlfriend's side.

Six hours later, after a delicious lunch that Teru had stashed in the truck and what felt like a thousand more walks, it was time to go home. The couple were exhausted but happy, and after a warm thanks and goodbye from Minako, they went on their way. In the truck on the way back into the city, Kurosaki was too tired to be on edge about Teru's driving and simply relaxed. He took the time to take in and appreciate the common sights that Teru never seemed to take for granted. Everything seemed so much more beautiful to him than normal, especially with the sun still shining, bright and warm. The city seemed so much more alive than usual. Inviting. Friendly.

He watched Teru as she drove, her hair fluttering around her face in the breeze from the open window. The corners of her lips were turned slightly upwards, and her cheeks glowed, a happy soft pink. When she took one of her delicate hands of the steering wheel for a moment to tuck some hair behind her ear, he felt himself fall in love just a little bit more.

Upon reaching home, the couple dragged themselves upstairs. Kurosaki had never been so over-joyed to experience a hot shower, a meal and his couch. At six o'clock, he and Teru were sprawled across the cushions watching the very film he had been thinking about earlier. Lightly caressing the dip of Teru's waist where his hand lay, Kurosaki leaned his head back agaist the arm-rest and let the last of the day's sunshine warm the backs of his eyelids. The events of the day were unexpected, but nonetheless it had been a truly great day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is also a sort of tribute to my local dog shelter, where I volunteer part-time. Although sometimes the things you see are heartbreaking, the overall experience is so rewarding. All the dogs mentioned are based on real dogs that I have been lucky enough to meet, work with and see go to new homes.


	6. Dinner Date

Teru had just finished her morning classes and was on her way to lunch, when her phone rang. Fishing the device out of the pocket of her jeans, she checked the caller ID and smiled before pressing the 'receive' button. Hoisting her backpack higher up on her shoulder and joining the throng of students on the hunt for food, Teru sandwiched her phone between her chin and shoulder as she juggled the folders and books in her arms.

"Hi Riko," she greeted, happy to hear from her brother's old girlfriend. She didn't get to see Riko very often anymore; in fact, she hadn't seen her much at all since Teru had moved out of their shared apartment. Riko went on more business trips than ever, now that she was no longer Teru's guardian, and Teru seemed to be permanently busy these days. When she wasn't studying or working, she was eating, sleeping or far too tired to uphold a coherent conversation. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen Andou or Master in ages either.

"Hey Teru," Riko answered. "It's been too long. How are you keeping? Working hard? Is that idiot taking care of you? If he's not - " she ended on a threatening note.

"I'm very well, thank you," Teru laughed, interrupting her. "Kurosaki is great, he's working really hard. We both are."

"I hope you aren't working yourself too hard Teru," Riko fussed. "Anyway, I called to ask if you have time to meet up. I'm having dinner with Master and Andy later, we'd love it if you could join us?" She mentioned a time, and extended the invitation to include Kurosaki.

"Okay!" Teru agreed enthusiastically. "We'll be there!" She hung up, plonked herself down on a bench beside the sidewalk and pulled her packed lunch out of her bag, punching another number into her phone as she did so. She took a big bite as the ringing tone buzzed in her ear. Typically, Kurosaki answered while she was in mid-chew.

"Hello?" he grouched. Teru chewed faster, so that she could answer him. Apparently not fast enough though, as Kurosaki said "Hello?" again, sounding even grumpier than before.

Swallowing quickly, Teru chirped a greeting at him. His reply was less than friendly. "What do you want?" he demanded. "I'm working."

In reality, he was exceptionally glad to hear from her. He leaned back in his desk chair and pulled at his tie. It was a fairly normal one today, no crazy patterns, yet he tugged at it reflexively. He'd been having a very bad day until now; he'd had a meeting in the morning and although it had gone reasonably well, he hated meetings by default. He had another one in a few hours, and he wasn't looking forward to it at all.

Furthermore, he dreading having to get up and walk to the water cooler to get a drink, although he was really thirsty, because he knew he would be waylaid by one of his female colleagues as he passed her desk. Sakura was a very nice girl, mind you, but her constant flirting was starting to get on his nerves. The fact that he was irritated by her attentions was the last proverbial nail in the coffin of his inner bachelor. In theory, he should have been pleased or flattered. She had long thick hair that flowed down as far as her slim waist, like a river of chocolate. She wasn't lacking in the chest department either, yet Kurosaki found that he didn't really care about that. Besides, ever since he had met Teru, Kurosaki had reached the conclusion that the natural look was so much more attractive to him than lashings of mascara and lipstick.

As icing on the cake of his bad day, his chair had developed a squeak. It was annoying the hell out of him. It creaked loudly again as he leaned back to talk to Teru. "Riko called today," she told him, cheerfully. Kurosaki resisted the urge to groan. This could not be good.

"She invited us to dinner tonight," Teru continued. Kurosaki did groan this time. This was so not good.

"What excuse did you give her?" he asked. His question was met with total silence, yet even across the airwaves he could feel the menace in it.

"Don't be like that," scolded Teru. "We haven't seen her in ages, she probably thinks that we've been avoiding her!"

She'd be right too, Kurosaki thought, grouchily.

"Don't forget that she, Andy and Master have been good friends to you over the years. They'd be hurt if you refused to see them! Besides don't you miss the Master's cooking? I know I'd love some of his curry." She let her last sentence hang in the air like bait. Kurosaki hesitated for a moment, but he knew that she had him.

After arranging what time to meet everyone at The Flower Garden, Kurosaki hung up and sat up straight. He felt a little better after speaking with Teru, but he couldn't help feeling that his day was about to get even worse.

Teru was glad that her last class of the day was especially interesting, otherwise the time would have gone by slower than a geriatric snail. When the final bell went, she tossed her bag onto her back and scooped up the things she could leave in her locker for the night. Afterwards, she set off towards the bus stop, walking briskly. She was looking forward to catching up with everyone and eating a meal she neither had to prepare nor clean up. Not that she wouldn't offer to help, of course.

Teru ran her fingers through her hair as she sat on the bus, fluffing it up as best she could. She found herself wishing that she'd put a little make-up on that morning, at least something to make her look a little less tired. She had a paper due the following Tuesday, and while she still had four days to complete it, she had stayed up late the night before in an attempt to get it done early. The dark circles under her eyes were evidence of her lack of sleep. Shrugging, the brunette hopped off the bus and walked the remaining few hundred feet to her destination.

Opening the door felt like stepping back in time. Teru felt like a high-school girl again, stopping by to see Master on the way home from school, or searching for Kurosaki when he wasn't at home. She was greeted warmly by each of her old friends, and the smell of Riko's perfume when they hugged brought a smile to Teru's face. She hadn't realised just how much she missed them all. Kurosaki arrived only a few minutes after herself and another round of greetings took place. Soon they were all sitting around a table, laughing and joking while feasting on Master's cooking.

Teru and Kurosaki found themselves slowly relaxing. Their daily lives were quite stressful, and they barely ever had time to spend with each other, never mind any of their other friends. Teru counted herself lucky if she saw Rena once in a while, especially since she and Kiyoshi had become a couple. Their situation was much like her own, muddling through a life together just taking every day as it came.

The plates were soon cleared away, though the conversation did not stop and neither did the drinking. Kurosaki had stopped after a few beers, yet Riko was still soaking in wine like a sponge. At ten o'clock her face was just beginning to take on a reddish hue, and her voice was getting steadily louder. Master and Andy were also getting decidedly merry. Riko drained the glass of wine currently held in her hand and turned to the youngest person on the room.

"You know," slurred Riko, "I really hope your kids turn out to be like you, Teru." A sudden silence descended on the company.

Riko paused to hiccup. "If they turn out like Tasuku here, and you decide to sell them as slaves or to a medical testing facility, you have my support."

Before anyone could interrupt her, Riko continued with her drunken monologue. "Teru, about Tasuku, I really think you should stop calling him Kurosaki, you know. What about when you get married? You'd be calling him by your own last name!"

The silence became quite strained. Kurosaki and Teru were frozen with embarrassment, and looked like they wanted to melt into their seats and disappear. Teru's face was beetroot red, while Kurosaki's was an interesting shade of pink. Master was holding his breath in a desperate bid not to laugh, while Andy watched the scene unfold with a mixture of horror and fascination.

Here Riko paused again, looking very confused. "Or not, maybe you'd want to keep your own last name. I wouldn't blame you."

Kurosaki started making wild eyebrow signals at Master across the table, appealing for some help. Unfortunately the latter was slumped forward on the table, shaking with mirth.

Riko was still talking. "After all you're both living in sin right now. Maybe you should propose Tasuku, or someone will snatch your sweet Teru away from you!"

Riko grinned a big, toothy, lopsided, drunken grin as she attempted to wink at Teru and succeeded only in looking like she was having some sort of seizure. "In my day… college boys were horrible rowdy creatures… perpetually unwashed. I can only imagine how much worse they are now. You've got to be careful Teru," Riko suddenly clutched at Teru's hand, and leaned in close, staring earnestly at her into her face. Teru might have been taken in but for the slightly wild look in her eye. "They're all just waiting to take advantage of you! You never know when they might strike! My poor sweet Teru…" Riko dissolved into dismal, inebriated sobbing.

"Crazy old hag," Kurosaki muttered as he drew Teru away from the blubbering Riko, before bidding goodbye to Andy and Master. Teru patted Riko gently on the back as she leaned on the table, surrounded by a cloud of melancholy, and promised to see them all again soon. Kurosaki hoped that it wouldn't be too soon.

Outside in the cool night air, Teru drew her coat around her more tightly to fend off the chill. She'd never seen Riko so drunk, and she wasn't sure if she was worried or thoroughly amused. Still, some of the things she'd said..! Teru felt her cheeks start to get warm again.

Her boyfriend's voice made her look up. "Hey, um…" he started. "Are the boys at school really that bad?" He stared intently at her. Teru groaned.


	7. Jealousy

"Make sure those assignments are on my desk first thing on Monday morning," the professor said to the congregation of students as she clicked off the overhead projector, making the screen behind her go blue. The classroom promptly filled with the sound of rustling papers and chairs scraping against the floor as the students began to flee. It was a beautiful day outside and no-one wanted to be cooped up inside a stuffy room watching a Powerpoint presentation, on a sunny Friday.

Teru leisurely rose from her seat and scooped up her books and papers, looking forward to letting the sunshine warm her skin. Maybe she'd treat herself to an ice cream...

"Hey, have you got any plans for the weekend?" Teru looked up into the face of her classmate, Ryuu. His short brown hair flopped forward into his eyes, which twinkled with a brightness to rival the smile he was directing at her. After everything that had happened during the "Daisy" fiasco, it had taken some time before Teru wasn't overcome with the urge to punch the face of any stranger who spoke to her and then run like hell. Ryuu, however, wasn't the kind of boy whose nose you broke, then ran away from. He had the kind of nose that crinkled when he grinned, and girls flocked towards him like bees to a flower. Besides, he wasn't a stranger.

Teru smiled back at him. "Not really. I guess I'll spend most of my time writing that essay for Professor Ogata," she replied.

Ryuu nodded, rolling his eyes good-naturedly. "She didn't give us much time did she? It'll be a miracle if I get done in time." He paused and sighed, looking sorrowful. "Plus, the subject isn't something I'm very good with. It may as well be Greek to me."

Teru's eyebrows knitted together over her eyes, which were full of concern for her friendly classmate. She reached over and patted his hand, where it rested on the edge of her desk where he was leaning. Ryuu looked up in surprise, and his breath hitched ever so slightly when he saw the soft smile on her face.

"If you don't understand what to do, you should talk to the teacher, Ryuu. She may be a bit of an ogre, but she's here to help." Teru's smile widened encouragingly.

Ryuu shuddered at the mere thought of tracking down Professor Ogata and admitting to her that he hadn't a clue what to do. Legend had it that she could shoot lasers from her eyes if she wished to, and that her round wire-rimmed glasses acted as a magnifying glass for the hot glare that she inflicted on certain students, which could reduce a man to ash in a matter of seconds. Not having any desire to go up in flames any time soon, Ryuu became seized with panic and clutched at Teru's hand.

"Please, Teru, won't you help me? I don't want to die!" he pleaded. Teru blinked at his outburst. He was still holding her hand. A light blush coloured her cheeks as she tried not to drown in Ryuu's deep chocolaty eyes. She hesitated.

"We could go someplace for ice cream…?" Ryuu tempted, smiling disarmingly at her. Teru sighed, though her smile remained in place. She nodded.

Elsewhere, Kurosaki was rather unhappy. He was stuck at the office for another few hours, while the sunlight streamed in through the windows. He was sweltering. The air-conditioning sucked. He had loads of work to do. Sakura was still giving him come-hither looks, which pissed him off. And worst of all, he was hungry. Lunch had been ages ago in his mind, when in reality it had been half an hour. The first thing he was going to do when he got out of this dump was to murder a bacon sandwich, and then devour an ice-cream. He glanced at his watch, growled, and then went back to playing Solitaire on his computer.

Meanwhile, Teru and Ryuu were sitting in a café downtown, surrounded by textbooks and eating frozen yoghurt.

"And then," Ryuu was saying, "a voice came on over the intercom, asking the two boys on unicycles to either walk properly in the supermarket, or get out." He laughed, and Teru pulled her spoon out of her mouth so she could ask what happened next.

"We were escorted out by security, still on our unicycles." The pair laughed until their stomachs hurt and Teru was afraid she might cry. Ryuu was a great storyteller; he recounted everything with such enthusiasm, complete with gestures, facial expressions, and impressions of other people. Teru hadn't laughed as much in ages.

Sobering, the two surveyed their empty bowls and the piles of academic material stacked around them like Jenga blocks. Their eyes met and they came to an agreement, conveyed through a raised eyebrow and rueful nod, that it was time to get started.

Later, when the temperature had dropped just enough for a light jacket to be necessary, though the sun still shone brightly, Kurosaki arrived home to an empty apartment. Dropping his keys into the bowl newly stationed on a small table beside the front door, he kicked off his shoes and wondered what to do with himself. His work was done (he'd won eleven games of Solitaire out of twenty three during the day), he'd already eaten (though he wouldn't be opposed to eating more), and the TV was always crappy on Friday (though he did sometimes secretly enjoy the occasional musical sitcom.)

He was crashed on the sofa, nursing a beer and watching one of the aforementioned TV programmes when Teru noisily arrived home. She kicked her shoes off to lie on top of his, shrugged off her jacket and dumped her bag on the floor before flopping down beside him on the cushions.

"How was your day?" she chirped, her cheerful expression instantly making him scowl in response. "Awful," he replied shortly.

The wattage of Teru's smile dimmed a little, and Kurosaki immediately felt like crap. Sighing, he shifted in his seat and moved his right arm to wrap around Teru's shoulders. Her face brightened again at once and she rested her head on his chest. Kurosaki propped his chin on top of her head, the fingers of his right arm absently stroking her upper arm. They sat there in companionable silence until Teru spoke up.

"Um, Kurosaki… Why are we watching this?" She sounded perplexed, and slightly worried. Too late, Kurosaki realised that he'd neglected to change the channel on the TV when she came in, and that they were currently watching a bratty teenage girl crying dramatically because her boyfriend had broken up with her, although it was her own fault for cheating on him. Kurosaki cursed under his breath.

The next day was, in a word, dreary. Teru was actually slightly thankful for this fact, because she didn't have to feel bad about being stuck indoors hunched over her desk. By two in the afternoon, half her paper was written, thanks to her getting all the prep work done with Ryuu at the café the day before. At this rate, she would be free all day on Sunday. She smiled, though it soon turned into a grimace when her stomach snarled.

While she pottered around the kitchen, Teru hoped that Kurosaki was free the following day. She wasn't sure why he'd gone into work today, he usually refused to leave the house on Saturdays. Sure, he often worked all day, but at least he was there. They would sit in the same room, tapping away at their computers, not speaking to each other for hours. Then a new e-mail would land in either of their inboxes containing a picture of a pile of puppies (for Teru) or random funny pictures (for Kurosaki.) Once, they'd both sent each other a picture of cookie dough and ice cream pizza at almost the same time.

Neither of them ever mentioned that they were supposed to be working, and not tripping around the internet looking at pictures of miniature deer standing on desks.

At seven o'clock, Teru was sitting on the couch with her dinner on her lap, watching TV alone, bored out of her mind. Where the hell was Kurosaki? It was no fun to watch crappy TV if there was no one to laugh at the stupidity of the characters with her.

Teru was just sitting down on the sofa again after cleaning her dinner plate, when Kurosaki arrived home. It was almost dusk, the first of the stars just starting to become visible in the sky. He looked dishevelled, his hair sticking up more than usual, and he barely managed to grunt a greeting in her direction. He usually threw himself down on the couch and started complaining loudly the moment he got home, or trying to get her to bring him a beer. He headed to the kitchen without a word. Teru began to feel uneasy. Why wasn't he talking to her? Why wasn't he looking at her?

Teru looked back at the screen, but she wasn't really watching it anymore. Instead, she was listening to Kurosaki move around in the kitchen, heating up the plate of food she'd left him. She waited for him to join her with his plate, but he didn't. He ate alone at the kitchen table.

Teru didn't know why she didn't get up and try to talk to him. It wasn't like her to leave him be when there was anything wrong. This time though, she just pulled her legs up into the sofa cushions with her and hugged them, staring unseeingly at the television screen. Before long, it was pitch dark outside and Kurosaki was in bed. For the first time ever, Teru dreaded joining him. This was a different kind of nervousness to the time when they first started sharing a bed.

In hindsight, it became clear that she was over-reacting. A lot. They just hadn't been communicating well lately, and it became easy for them both to take jump to conclusions.

On Monday morning, Teru woke up to an empty apartment. She didn't mind; instead, she smiled. She'd woken up in an empty bed on Sunday too, and initially she'd panicked. The snakes writhing in the pot of her stomach soon calmed though, because Kurosaki arrived home while she was getting dressed, bearing coffee and muffins. To apologise for being weird the night before. He was tired and stressed, and he was sorry. They'd spent the whole day together (with minimal arguing) and Teru hadn't felt as happy and relaxed in ages.

Today, after a quick shower and breakfast, Teru dashed off to the bus stop. She was just dropping her finished paper off on Professor Ogata's desk when she bumped into Ryuu.

"Morning!" he dimpled at her.

"Good morning," she smiled back. "You did okay with it in the end?" she asked, nodding at the sheaf of papers, neatly stapled together, that he dropped on top of hers.

"Yes, thanks to you," he replied. "Listen. I want to make it up to you. I can't offer you much in the field of study," he laughed, "but I do want to repay you somehow. If you ever need anything, just let me know."

Teru's eyes widened and she shook her head slightly, smiling. She hoped that she wasn't blushing. "Not at all. It was my pleasure. I'm sure you would have been fine on your own anyway. I didn't do that much."

Ryuu opened his mouth to argue, but Teru interrupted before he could speak. "I'm glad I could help. If you ever need to talk about something again, let me know." She smiled again, before waving and heading towards her first class. Ryuu watched her go, liking the way her shirt slouched over one shoulder, exposing the soft point of her shoulder and the way her hair danced between her shoulder blades. What a girl, he thought.

Over the course of the next two weeks, Teru ended up spending five afternoons after class with Ryuu, before he dropped her home. They also greeted each other every morning as they rummaged through their lockers, which happened to be located about three feet from each other. Teru had a group of friends whom she usually ate lunch with, but gradually that group converged with the group that consisted of Ryuu's friends, and the lot of them spent their lunchtimes either scattered on and around a bench on the campus lawns, or beside the stairwell next to the library.

Kurosaki soon noticed that Teru was at home less and less, and was starting to talk about a bunch of people whose names he had never heard before. One name that cropped up more often than all the others was "Ryuu." Kurosaki was not happy.

One Wednesday, when Teru was especially late and flushed-looking when she arrived home, Kurosaki was in a truly foul mood. He'd had a horrific day at work, had arrived home to an empty, dark apartment and now Teru was cheerfully prattling on about this guy Ryuu, again.

They were sitting at the kitchen table eating dinner, Teru twirling her chopsticks in the air as she talked animatedly. Kurosaki sat across from her, glaring down at his plate and stuffing food into his mouth so that he wouldn't have to talk. He couldn't even taste what he was eating.

He risked a glance at Teru and saw that she was smiling widely, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks pink. She said nothing but good things about this Ryuu person, but Kurosaki absolutely hated him.

"You know, I think you'd like him," Teru was saying. "I should introduce you two sometime. What do you think?"

Kurosaki simply shrugged and kept eating.

"He's really nice, and really funny. You'd probably get along. It would be great if you did. I really like him." Teru continued. Kurosaki's blood began to boil. He shoved the last bite of food into his mouth, grabbed his plate and stalked into the kitchen before he could say anything he would regret.

Teru had had enough. She followed him, exclaiming "What on earth is wrong with you?!"

Kurosaki kept his back to her so that she wouldn't see his clenched fists and the way his eyebrows were mashed together so hard that they looked like one. She could see how tense the muscles in his back looked though, even through his loose cotton t-shirt.

She placed a gentle hand on his spine, though she quickly retracted it when he flinched as though she'd burned him. She grabbed his arm, refusing to let him pull away. She tried to get him to face her but he could be as strong (and stubborn) as a mule when he wanted to.

"Hey…" Teru murmured, in a voice so small that Kurosaki immediately started to hate himself. His shoulders slumped and he shook his head. "There's nothing wrong," he said, replying to her earlier question. "I'm just tired. I'm going to bed."

Teru nodded, biting her lip. She watched him go with worried eyes. The pit of snakes writhing in her stomach was back.

That night, the couple lay in bed with a big gap between them. Teru lay curled on her side, staring at the wall. She had pulled the blanket tightly around her so that she looked like a caterpillar in a cocoon, but she still felt so cold. She had never realised how much she disliked sleeping alone, and although Kurosaki was only a foot away, it might as well have been a continent. She didn't know what was wrong, what had happened. She didn't know why Kurosaki seemed so closed off. Why wouldn't her talk to her? Was she the problem? Was he growing tired of her?

Teru closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, in the hope that her pretence would soon become a reality.

Kurosaki on the other hand, was lying flat on his back staring at the ceiling, loathing himself more and more with each passing second. Why was he such a goddamn idiot? He could tell that he was hurting Teru, and he hated it. He hated himself even more for not being able to stop.

He loved Teru with every fibre of his being. He loved her so much that it hurt sometimes, like when she danced around their apartment wearing only one of his shirts, or when she kissed his cheek and he felt her smile against his skin, or when she smiled at the small child in front of them in the queue at the grocery store.

This was what he had been afraid of, back when Teru was in high school and he was nothing more than a delinquent janitor. He had known then, that he would hurt her sooner or later.

He turned his head on the pillow and looked at her. He could tell that she wasn't asleep, even though her breathing was slow and even. No sleeping person looked that tense.

He sighed, realising too late that he had just alerted her of his own wakefulness. He knew his jealousy was as irrational as it was all-consuming. He burned in the flames of his own self-hatred. He had never been in love before, and he had no idea how to handle this feeling. So he handled it as he had always handled things, he hid it, and he pushed Teru away.

An hour later, Kurosaki was still stewing and Teru was still as rigid as a ruler. Kurosaki couldn't take it anymore. He rolled over onto his side and shuffled over to Teru. She tensed even more when he touched her shoulder. After a few seconds she relented and rolled over to face him. The warmth of his body as he wound his arm around her waist inexplicably made her want to cry. She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned towards him, yearning to be close to him yet horribly unsure. One solitary tear escaped as Kurosaki pulled her close and tucked her head underneath his chin. She clutched at his shirt. Soon, she fell into an exhausted sleep.

The following week was better. Things returned to normal. Or rather, what might be considered normal for another couple, but for Teru and Kurosaki, was extremely abnormal. They didn't argue at all. They ate dinner together every night. They washed the dishes together, Kurosaki washing while Teru dried. They took turns making breakfast in the mornings. They talked about random things over dinner.

It was awful.

It was a Thursday when Ryuu invited Teru out.

"Any plans for the weekend?" he asked in the afternoon, as he opened his locker and dumped some books in.

Tiptoe around Kurosaki like I'm walking on eggshells, Teru thought. She said "No. Not really."

Ryuu's face lit up. "Great! There's a charity thing on tomorrow night. It's to raise money for the community dog shelter. Do you want to come?" he looked at her hopefully.

Teru was pleasantly surprised. "Minako-san's place?"

Ryuu nodded. "Yeah! Do you know her?"

"I volunteered there a few times. It's a great place!"

"Isn't it? Is that a yes to going?" Ryuu grinned.

Teru agreed excitedly. Ryuu's eyes shone. "Great! I'll pick you up! It'll be fun!"

Teru's smile lasted the entire bus ride home. This was perfect. Kurosaki had said that morning that he would be busy working from home on Friday night. It was lucky that Ryuu had given her a lift home a few times, so he knew where to pick her up. Teru was excited about seeing the nice lady from the shelter again too, she hoped she would get to say hello to her.

Besides, she was tired of being careful of what she said and did all the time. Kurosaki had been so stressed lately, and things at home were still slightly strained. She tried to keep the chattering to a minimum, and she hadn't mentioned her friends in a while. She didn't even mention the hilarity that took place when Ryuu brought his unicycle to school.

Dinner that night was a cheery affair. Teru was in a good mood and Kurosaki couldn't help but respond to her.

"Did something good happen today?" he asked.

"I'm going out tomorrow night," she replied. "There's a fundraiser on for the dog shelter on. You said you'd be working, didn't you? I thought one of us should go. Anyway, it'll be fun!"

Teru's smile widened impossibly when a new idea struck her. "Ooh! There might be food! If there's anything really yummy, I'll try to sneak some home for you!"

Kurosaki chuckled.

"Do I look okay?" Teru asked as she emerged from the bedroom later that night.

Kurosaki looked up from where he was sitting on the couch, and did his best not to choke. At least not audibly. Teru looked stunning, clad in a knee-length dress made of flowy midnight blue material. Half of her hair was caught up in a silver clip, and her silver high heeled shoes brought the top of her head level with Kurosaki's nose.

"Not bad," was his answer. "Why?"

"I was thinking of wearing this tomorrow. I'll have to try and be home early enough to get ready."

"When are you leaving?"

"Seven o'clock. Why are you laughing at me?!"

Kurosaki wasn't laughing at her. He simply thought it was funny that she thought it would take a long time to get herself ready. Didn't she know she was beautiful all the time anyway?

"How are you getting there?" Kurosaki suddenly wondered.

"Oh, Ryuu's picking me up."

Kurosaki froze. "What?"

Teru was oblivious. "I'm going with Ryuu. He's picking me up."

Kurosaki seriously considered screaming for a moment. Then he thought better of it. Then he screamed anyway.

He shot up off his seat. "Are you crazy?!"

Teru blinked. "Um - "

"You're going to party, with a guy, alone, dressed like THAT?! What is wrong with you?! You can't just go out with another guy! What about ME?! I'm right here!"

Teru opened and closed her mouth, not saying a word. She was shaking, and tears streamed from her eyes. His heart hurt just looking at her. She truly had no idea. She was going to be the death of him.

He was across the room in two strides.

Before Teru knew what was happening, she was crushed against Kurosaki's body and his mouth was on hers. His kiss was bruising and hungry, yet his lips remained as soft, warm and silky as ever.

Teru was still for only a split second, before she responded with equal passion. Her hands made their way around his neck and into his hair, pulling him even closer. Kurosaki's hand were everywhere; her waist, her hips, her back, in her hair.

She didn't even realise that they were moving until she found herself falling, landing flat on her back on the couch. Kurosaki climbed over her, not letting their lips part for more than more than a second. They clutched at each other, taking short panting breaths before diving back for more.

Teru's stomach was tying itself into knots, but in a good way. She wasn't getting enough air, but that was okay. She was getting dizzy, but it didn't matter. She was too hot, but she welcomed the heat.

She bit her lip and whined when Kurosaki pulled his mouth away from hers and starting kissing along her jaw line. She whimpered as his lips touched the corner of her jaw, right below her ear. He pressed onemore kiss to her lips, and then, finally, the pair pulled away and looked at each other. They were both flushed and breathless. Teru stared into Kurosaki's eyes and saw love, hunger, and something that surprised her. Pain. Fear.

Her heart stopped. And it hit her. Was Kurosaki jealous of Ryuu? She couldn't believe it.

"I love you," she whispered, and just this once, those three words really did make everything okay again. They both understood. Everything.

Kurosaki's mouth returned to hers, but the kiss was slower, sweeter. The fire in the pit of her stomach smouldered. His touch stoked it. He was her oxygen.

Next morning, Ryuu found an apologetic-looking Teru standing next to his locker. Greetings were exchanged, then Teru bit her lip.

"Hey, I won't be able to go to the fundraiser with you tonight after all. I know I agreed to go with you as friends, but when I told my boyfriend about it he really wanted to come along too. We'll see you there though!"

Ryuu blinked. As friends? Boyfriend? Then he returned her smile, somewhat ruefully. Of course a girl like that has a boyfriend, he thought.

"That's fine," he reassured her. She gave him one last smile, and rushed off to her first class. Ryuu watched her go. Plenty more fish in the sea, he told himself. He smiled.


	8. Turning Out the Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! So it's been a while, huh? *waves awkwardly* Here's a teeny tiny chapter to let you know that I'm not dead, and to tide you over until I've got the next one typed up. Sorry for the wait. (blahblahexamsblahprocrastinationblahblahworkblah)
> 
> Please forgive me!
> 
> P.S. In case you don't get it from the story, this is a flashback to when Teru and Kurosaki are just moving in together.

Night was falling. Thankfully, the growing darkness concealed the mess in Kurosaki's apartment. Moving house is a messy business, even if only one person is moving and that is only moving across a hallway.

Teru didn't have that many possessions but the place still looked like a bomb site. Standing in the bedroom doorway, Kurosaki wondered what happened when really materialistic girls with 38 pairs of shoes moved in with their boyfriends.

The problem was that Kurosaki didn't have much closet space, so he'd had to evict some of his own things to make room for Teru's. Hence the tangle of clothes strewn all over the floor that was a mixture of his own and Teru's. Goodness knows what they were going to do with all this stuff. They'd have to buy some more storage options. Oh joy, furniture shopping.

Teru had already bought a thing or two for the apartment, new bed linen for a start. They'd needed to get more pillows as well. Teru's new dressing gown now hung in pride of place on the back of the bedroom door.

Riko was away for the weekend, leaving Teru and Kurosaki free to move things by themselves. Her absence also gave them the opportunity to nick food from the kitchen cupboards. Well, it gave Kurosaki the opportunity. Teru refused to partake in the theft of food, even if it was from her own kitchen, where half the food was technically for her anyway.

Kurosaki felt a swell of happiness as he thought that maybe Teru didn't think of Riko's apartment anymore, because her home was with him.

After a dinner of stolen (though this was debatable) ramen noodles, it was time for bed. The young couple danced around each other awkwardly in the bathroom, trying to clean their teeth at the same time. They weren't quite into the rhythm of cohabiting yet.

Once again, Kurosaki was grateful that Teru wasn't materialistic or utterly obsessed with beauty products. If she'd been any other girl, the bathroom countertop would soon have disappeared beneath endless bottles of various types of goo. If Teru ever started goo-hoarding, something would have to be done. Kurosaki didn't know what exactly, but he's think of something. In reality, he'd probably just let her do what she wanted; maybe he'd complain bitterly from time to time, but ultimately Teru would get her way. And Kurosaki would be okay with that. But for now, Kurosaki wanted to pretend that he was completely in control of the situation.

After the shuffling around the bathroom, the pair retired to the bedroom. Although he'd rolled his eyes when she's bought them, Kurosaki had to admit that these new sheets that Teru had got were really great. However, the insane comfort could have been to do with the fact that the bed was made. The blonde didn't often make his bed, but he appreciated that there was nothing in the world lie sliding between the cool, clean sheets of a properly made bed.

Once they were happily lying on their backs, just revelling in the comfort of the bed and breathing in the smell of the freshly laundered sheets, a thought occurred to Teru.

"Kurosaki," she began, in a wheedling little voice.

"What?" he answered. He knew he was about to end up doing something that he didn't want to do.

"The light is still on."

Muffled cursing followed this revelation. Kurosaki reluctantly got out of bed and turned the light off as quickly as possible, the sooner to return to bed. He was across the room and back before you could say "the speed of light." He would have argued but he knew he'd lose, and if he won, he wouldn't feel any satisfaction in making Teru get out of bed. Within a few heartbeats he was snuggled up in bed again, this time with Teru nestled in his arms.

The next day they went out and bought a bedside table and a lamp.


	9. The Coaster War

It all started the day they bought a new coffee table. They made a very clichéd picture as they wandered around the furniture store, Teru absorbed in the task and Kurosaki looking as bored as could be. As Teru deliberated over the merits of different coffee tables, ("This glass topped one would be easy to clean but knowing you, you'd probably smash it" and "These little drawers are nice but they'd probably end up crammed with junk"), Kurosaki mumbled appropriately and nodded his agreement to everything she said.

On their way around the shop, they passed two other couples on a similar mission; Kurosaki exchanged long-suffering looks with the male counterparts of the other duos. Unbeknownst to all the men, their female significant others also exchanged long-suffering looks with each other. Of course, the guys were too wrapped up in their own boredom and self-pity to notice anything.

After what seemed like eons of Teru debating with herself, they agreed on a coffee table. Or rather Teru decided which one she wanted. A short visit to the checkout later, they were the proud owners of a smart but simple wooden coffee table. Teru was thrilled and secretly planning a long overdue overhaul of Kurosaki's apartment. They'd been living there together for years, but very little had changed since Teru was a teenager. It was high time they did something about that ratty old sofa, even if that sofa held several precious memories, and maybe the carpets. They'd got some new crockery for the kitchen but a nabe wouldn't go amiss, and the bedroom could do with a lick of paint and some new bedlinen.

But first, Kurosaki had to be allowed to adjust to the first major change. A complete revamp of the living space all at once might send him into cardiac arrest. No, let him adjust to this one change first. Not that the coffee table was actually in the apartment yet, it was due to be delivered in three days. Teru bought a nice new ashtray in anticipation.

There was a little more money to spend now, Kurosaki had a good job and the odd bit of freelance work, and Teru had a nice, flexible job in a coffee shop. The rent was cheap as peanuts, which helped. They could have afforded another bigger, nicer apartment, but the couple were comfortable where they were. Riko had moved out a while ago and had been replaced by an ornery elderly couple. Luckily, Teru and Kurosaki were reasonably good neighbours and so they didn't provoke the wrath of the pensioners very often. Their huge, loud fights were limited to once or twice a month if they felt restless, and the rest of their screaming matches took place in the form of enraged whispers. Despite their feisty temperaments, their fights were only rarely serious. Regardless, they almost always made up by dinnertime.

Anyway, the coffee table arrived on a Wednesday and was immediately installed in the living room and adorned with the new ashtray. Teru was delighted; Kurosaki was largely indifferent to the coffee table but Teru's joy made him happy, so everyone was satisfied. At least they were until several weeks later when Teru noticed partial rings appearing on the surface of the wooden piece. Trouble began to brew.

Teru promptly went out and bought ten coasters, nice cork coasters with colourful abstract and geometric designs on them. And so the problem was resolved, or so she thought.

A short while went by when no more rings appeared but before long they began to reproduce again. Teru's temper was beginning to near boiling point. She and Kurosaki weren't a couple that bought a lot of things or that placed a lot of emphasis on material possessions, they were never in need for anything but they didn't often obtain nice things, but when they did, Teru wanted to keep them that way. So the gradual destruction of the coffee table upset her a trifle.

She was less than pleased when she arrived home from the evening shift at work one day to find her boyfriend lounging on the sofa with his feet propped up on her precious coffee table. Teru dropped her bag and coat and marched across the room, seizing Kurosaki's legs by the calves. She lifted his feet off the coffee table and dumped them unceremoniously on the floor. The impact to the blonde's heels jarred up his legs and made his spine tingle. He shivered and opened his mouth to protest, but Teru beat him to it.

"This was new once, you know, in case you don't remember! Not so long ago, in fact! Look at it, it already looks like it's a millions years old!"

"Technically - " Kurosaki began, but Teru wasn't done yet.

"How hard is it to use a coaster for your beer?! You're destroying it!" Teru then stomped off and refused to bring him another beer when he asked for it.

After that outburst, Kurosaki was extra careful to use coasters on the coffee table. He even started using coasters on his desk, because after getting into the habit of using them, putting beverages down onto a bare surface made him uncomfortable. So, he was surprised when, a month later, he heard an exasperated exclamation from the living room while he was working quietly at his desk.

Teru's approach was heralded by the sound of stamping feet. He looked up from his computer to find her towering over him, her face twisted into an expression of apoplectic rage.

"Um…yes?" he countered. Her reply was to throw a small, flat, round object at him, which bounced off his forehead and skittered across his desk before falling down somewhere behind it. All the residential dust bunnies were sure to be thrilled with their new arrival.

"I knew that all that dye would kill your brain! How hard is it to use a coaster?! I've asked and asked you to use them, but apparently that skull of yours is too thick to allow in anything I say!"

Told me and told me more like, thought Kurosaki, at the same time racking his brains as he tried to remember where he'd failed to use a coaster. Then Teru brandished a beer that he hadn't noticed she'd been holding, and he had his answer. He had hastily put the beer down when the phone rang, and after speaking with his boss, he'd headed to his computer to do some work, forgetting about the wayward beer bottle.

"I…" he began, but Teru was still going and Kurosaki couldn't get a word in edgewise. In desperation, and a moment of bad judgement, he plucked a coaster off the corner of his desk and tossed it into his ranting girlfriend's face.

A sudden and dangerous silence fell. Teru, her face expressionless and posture stiff, strode out of the room. Kurosaki, more timidly than he would ever admit, rose and followed her.

He halted when he was smacking in the face by another coaster. He eyed Teru, who was crouched in a fighting stance behind the coffee table, a coaster clutched in each hand. The mood shifted suddenly from angry to playful. Kurosaki launched himself at the coffee table, snatching up the one remaining coaster. The rest of the coasters had either already been used as missiles or were scattered to other surfaces in the home. There was an indefinite number of coasters in the house now, as Teru had bought several more packets in the last few weeks. The war began.

Scrambling around the apartment, the couple hunted down coasters and pelted each other with them. Before long, they were breathless and laughing. While Teru was slightly incapacitated by laughter, Kurosaki saw an opportunity and took it. He vaulted over the coffee table in a great leap, seized Teru's waist and pulled her to him. She shrieked with laughter but was silenced by his lips crashing down on hers. Teru made a small sound of surprise, but it only made the blonde hold her tighter. His spiky hair tickled the side of her face and Teru smiled into the kiss and wound her arms around his neck. Kurosaki responded by pulling her even more firmly against him, his arms nearly reaching his own ribs on the opposite side. Teru stroked the back of his neck with her fingernails… and slipped her last coaster down the back of his shirt before wriggling free and making her escape. The sound Kurosaki emitted was half indignation and half disappointment.

By dinnertime, the couple were flushed and happy, endorphins flowing and frustration gone. Teru didn't even notice that Kurosaki was extremely careful to use a coaster.


	10. Anything for You

Kurosaki was panicking. Teru, his princess, was crying and he hadn't a clue why, or what to do. She was just sitting on the sofa, sobbing ever so softly. The blonde was at a loss. They hadn't just watched a sad movie. There hadn't been an advert for abused and neglected dogs on the TV. In fact, the TV wasn't even on. And it hadn't been on when Kurosaki had arrived home five minutes ago.

"Teru?" He tried again to get her to look at him. She didn't react beyond ducking her head, letting her hair fall forward to cover her face.

Kurosaki perched himself tentatively beside his sniffling girlfriend. He didn't think that anyone had died or Teru would be a lot worse than this. Nevertheless, he wasn't having any bright ideas.

He raised a hand and stroked Teru's upper back, while using the other hand to push back a curtain of hair. Teru's tears were drying now, and she looked more embarrassed than distraught. After one last great sniff, she turned to face her concerned companion.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, voice still slightly rough from crying. Kurosaki braced himself for a confession having failed an exam, or getting a D on an assignment. He'd though that they'd cured Teru of taking school that seriously. Sure, it was important, but it wasn't worth this kind of anguish.

Teru wiped her eyes and offered a shaky smile. Tilting her head back and shaking her hair out of her face so that it rippled down her back, she smiled more genuinely. Then, she giggled. Kurosaki was utterly bewildered. Teru took one look at his expression and giggled some more. She laid a gentle hand on his, where it lay close to her knee. She cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I… uh… I just…" Her cheeks pinkened. "It's my time of the month," she blurted.

Kurosaki blushed. Okay, so he had been cohabiting with a woman for a while, he wasn't ignorant and he was a grown man. But he was still a man for crying out loud.

"I… Do you need anything?" he stammered. He felt foolish. Wasn't he supposed to know what to do right now? What did girls on their… uh, anyway, need apart from the obvious. Giant teddy bears? Chocolate bars the size of mattresses? Vats of ice cream?

"I need to go to the drugstore, but my tummy's too sore and I feel too disgusting to go out," Teru said in a near-whisper, looking at Kurosaki pleadingly from beneath her lashes.

Kurosaki would have told her that of course she wasn't disgusting, she could never be disgusting, she was beautiful, he loved her, but he was too busy panicking at the prospect of what was to come.

"I'll go for you," he offered, the way one might offer to shove bamboo splinters under their own nails.

Teru soon had a list for him and Kurosaki set off for drugstore with the air of a man setting off to a battle. If he were a less loving boyfriend, his footsteps would have been heavy and slow, as though he were wading through treacle. However, because he was a very loving boyfriend, his stride was brisk and purposeful. He would get these supplies if it killed him.

Several minutes later found Kurosaki standing in the personal hygiene isle of the drugstore, looking at the endless shelved of feminine hygiene supplies like they might eat him.

A store employee passing by gave him a double take. Should he ask her for help? Nope. Too humiliating. It would be like pulling over and asking directions when you get lost while driving. Why hadn't he checked what Teru usually had?! Oh right, because he was an idiot.

Finally, he tossed a few packets and boxes into his shopping basket, the most expensive ones; they had to be expensive for a reason, right?

Gratefully, Kurosaki scarpered, stopping to toss some painkillers and self-heating pad things into the basket. Clutching his bag of spoils, he stopped by the grocery store to buy chocolate, ice cream and other carb-laden, sugary foods. And bananas. For some reason he's had an inkling that he should buy bananas.

The look of gratitude on Teru's face as he elbowed his way in the door bearing his spoils of war, was worth the entire trip. Never mind that the drugstore was in fact, only three blocks away and hardly taxing to get to. And that the buying of the… stuff had been significantly more painless than Kurosaki had anticipated. He felt rather foolish now for overreacting. And even if the experience had been awful, it would have been worth it for his princess.


End file.
